As social networking has becoming a key part of our lives, we are often faced with sensitive privacy issues, mainly concerned around who we share our, often revealing, content with. Well, how about a place where you can share items with your significant other? That’s right, no exes, no future employees, no grandparents, just you and your beau.
VCNC, a Korean company founded by five ambitious developers in their twenties, is catering for that very niche with its latest app Between, which provides a private sharing space for couples.
The company is mainly targeting Asian users, generally known to be reluctant to share private memories with strangers and even with their friends. Reducing the networking aspect of existing social services but introducing the interaction to a mobile plaform, Between allows users to build a private archive of content just by entering the phone number of their significant other into the app. Once the relationship is established, users of Between can chat, share photo albums and store memories with their loved one.
With the aim of stepping out of its home market in Korea, the company released the app in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean in November. Just two weeks after launch, the service had drawn more than 45,000 users worldwide.
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VCNC not only identifies couples as users with great demand for an intimate sharing space, it also sees them as a customer base with strong purchasing power, which will attract advertisers of products and services for couples.
Jaeuk Park, the CEO of VCNC explains how the service can be of interest to advertisers:
We will aim to connect couples in need of better weekend date ideas with advertisers who want to directly target them.
The app currently has 62,000 users which has seen it reached the number two spot for social networking apps on Korea’s App Store. Between is not VCNC’s first product, and the company previously a developed number of apps that include News Gallery, Songs for Kids and an app dedicated to Steve Jobs, Keynotes of Steve Jobs.
➤ Between | App Store | Android Market
Really interesting article. Thanks Andy.
The parallels between Between and Path can't be ignored. We've just mentionedt this 3seven9 after your article in our blog news round-up. [ www.3seven9.com/blog/2672/whats-new-for-you-19th-dec?c=BGc ]
The move towards more private & more niche social networks is an interesting development - do you think everyone will turn towards them more and more as they get worried about privacy concerns?
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LikeSarah Ahmed 3seven9 Apologies for the late reply. Only just saw your comment now. :) There was a bit of a public backlash in Korea with popular messaging app Kakao Talk changing their policies (http://nielsfootman.com/kakaotalk-data-gathering-personal-information-privacy/) and some turned to other apps so I think some (but not all) will definitely start looking for more private networks as social media gets older.
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LikeSarah Ahmed 3seven9 What do think about development towards the private and more niche social networks now, compared to a couple months before?
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LikeSeeeexting tiiiime!
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LikeGoogle is being run by Indians, managerially and technically. Even though Page and Schmidt are CEO and Executive Chairman of Big G, but still we can’t forget that it was Amit Singhal, an IIT Roorkey Graduate, who re-wrote the whole algorithm of Google Search Engine in 2000 which made Google the best in the industry. Then, Nikesh Arora of BHU-IT is the Chief Business Manager; Vic Goundotra is the man behind the whole Google Plus… and, many many more. Search FAMOUS INDIANS WORKING IN GOOGLE for more details.
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LikeConversation from Twitter
eske Or, ya know, you could just text her ...
Rowan_Manahan how very... Last Century :-)
eske Rowan_Manahan given the rate at which people use SMS it's very this century :-)
dermotcasey eske A social network - a special place - for a couple? It's called a house! #whydotheycallitcommonsense ?
gesikowski Between: absolutely adorable!
kath_sully Thanks for your comment. It makes me wonder what's next for SM... MeMyselfAnd...I : a social network for narcissists ;-)
kath_sully how about Apart: a social network for sworn enemies... LOL to carry out your virtual hate campaign ;-) like SM fight club!
gesikowski I love it! Or Around: a social network for chronic avoiders. The best way to avoid conflict and face to face conversation. ;)
Altaide_JF Euh ça vous paraît pas juste grotesque de passer par un réseau social pour échanger avec sa moitié ??! #woof cc cdeniaud
Musaraign je ne juge pas... je constate. Chacun y fera sa propre opinion
cdeniaud A quand un réseau social pour prendre ses propres décisions ?! ;) #wof cc Altaide_JF
copyhacker this is good, but I DO have to admit I like path.
jeffreypjacobs I think path could be a killer app for private journaling, but it needs a couple of teensy UI tweaks for that to work.
copyhacker you are right, but I really enjoy the interface for pics, plus I am partial to my network there, so totally biased.
Daniel8Lopes does it support multiple accounts? :D
burnout_pt looooooool that would be a great suggestion for the staff :D
Hey boris I can't seem to sign up for it. Is Between trying to come between us? http:\/\/t.co\/OdUNYmJd
Conversation from Facebook
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What the what...? FaceTime, people. I mean face to face time.
Both
Had the idea for such an app about a year ago. The biggest problem to solve is the exit strategy i guess, e.g. exporting the data :)))
Ok what I gather from their little reel (http://vimeo.com/33096631) is relationships start out a bit awkward with a guy into a chick and a chick self-absorbed in her white iPhone. Am I missing anything?
Isn't this sort of shit supposed to be done on the kitchen table? On that greatest social network of all called REAL LIFE?
I think I'll go with cheesy :P